I love being a housewife, always did

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I worked when my children began school, just humble office jobs, often part time. Yet I only did so because money was tight on just my husband's salary. I always felt trapped having to be in an office for boring hours then coming home and trying to keep the house nice and everyone fed and sorted out. I was permanently exhausted.

With retirement I just love being able to plan my own days. I enjoy hanging laundry out, the fresh smell when it's all dry, baking, cooking, mopping floors and keeping our home clean and nice. Being able to enjoy my garden even though I can't do much in it, my husband does the main work.

I wasn't ever ambitious, I just wanted to be at home. So in retirement I am contented with this quiet life out of the rat race. I don't care that I never had an important career or ever earned much. I earned enough. I like my role as home maker best.

How do you feel about your life, ambitious or not, have you been happy?
 

I was a stay at home mom and housewife in my first marriage. I was happy with that life and loved taking care of my family. Then life happened and I ended up having to work and two more marriages. In my last marriage I was at home and worked from home. I never had a career either, just various jobs over the years.

Now in retirement and living alone, I still find my day spent doing the same types of things I did as a housewife. That is okay with me because I am happiest at home.
 
I worked when my children began school, just humble office jobs, often part time. Yet I only did so because money was tight on just my husband's salary. I always felt trapped having to be in an office for boring hours then coming home and trying to keep the house nice and everyone fed and sorted out. I was permanently exhausted.

With retirement I just love being able to plan my own days. I enjoy hanging laundry out, the fresh smell when it's all dry, baking, cooking, mopping floors and keeping our home clean and nice. Being able to enjoy my garden even though I can't do much in it, my husband does the main work.

I wasn't ever ambitious, I just wanted to be at home. So in retirement I am contented with this quiet life out of the rat race. I don't care that I never had an important career or ever earned much. I earned enough. I like my role as home maker best.

How do you feel about your life, ambitious or not, have you been happy?
I was a working single father most of my adult life. I wasn't a huge financial success but I earned enough for my kids to live a pretty average American life...plenty to eat, a decent home, toys, TVs and music, sports, dance class, and camping vacations.

I took multiple jobs, and I didn't always like them. I chose jobs with scheduling that allowed me significant time with my kids and to be a good housekeeper and main cook for them, which was my favorite job of all-time.
 
I never had a career, just blue collar, joe-lunchbox type jobs that did not, in my opinion, define who I was.
I never married either or fathered any children.
I regret the lack of an identity defining career but I think I'd have been a lousy husband or father so I'm probably better off not having failed at those important relationship responsibilities.
In my birth family I was for 60 years the care giver for my mood disordered, basically mentally disturbed mother, a set of obligations defaulted on by my father and two older brothers.......that's a long, strange story.

Now I'm the sole survivor of that family. My closest blood relative now is my brother's daughter.......a criminal type disinherited by her father.
Here and now my task is to make some meaningful purpose with the time I have left. For 6 months out of the year I make and sell yeast breads (mostly pretty healthy whole grain....) and cookies. I volunteer every week visiting patients at our small town hospital.......under the aegis of the chaplain and social workers.
I'm an "Ally" with the United Way, Bridging Forward ministry........I'm currently associated with a lady recovered from meth addiction, paroled from prison, diabetic and urgently striving to save her leg from amputation and who's also tasked with caring for her 15 month old granddaughter.......while the child's mother is serving a one year sentence in state prison. I'm also in the Master Gardener, state university extension program.......which is basically my primary source of regular social contacts......except for hospital patients and the other members of my church.

This may be as good as it gets for me.
I still feel regret for the no-career thing every day.
I still feel regret for the years my marginally functional family fumbled its way along and for my effed up childhood, every day.
But here and now I'm 71 years old and this is probably as good as it gets.

There's also the after-life journey but that's a whole different conversation.
And THAT should be pretty interesting.......
 
That's wonderful Rose. Housewives are often under valued, but it is an important and sometimes even difficult "job". I never had the luxury of not working but my sister did. She worked for a little while here and there, but her husband didn't want her to work, so she didn't work for decades. After he died she got a PT job for a little while at Lord & Taylor, her favorite store. I don't think staying at home all the time would have been for me.
 
Well Rose..I managed a career ..sometimes several jobs at once and managed my home, and raised my daughter alone from when she was 8 years old... until I remarried when she was 23 and had already eft home and got her own home.

For all those years I worked, did all the housework, cooked, did all the gardening and repairs and maintenance.

After I remarried, I continued to work, as he did full time.. and altho' I did 90% of the housework.. he did the repairs and we both worked in the gardens . Now after 24 years of marriage, and he's gone..I'm back to doing everything myself again.... only this time I get to do it with my friend Arthur Itis... who is no help at all...:rolleyes:

I wish I could go back to work... I miss it...
 
I never had a career, just blue collar, joe-lunchbox type jobs that did not, in my opinion, define who I was.
I never married either or fathered any children.
I regret the lack of an identity defining career but I think I'd have been a lousy husband or father so I'm probably better off not having failed at those important relationship responsibilities.
In my birth family I was for 60 years the care giver for my mood disordered, basically mentally disturbed mother, a set of obligations defaulted on by my father and two older brothers.......that's a long, strange story.

Now I'm the sole survivor of that family. My closest blood relative now is my brother's daughter.......a criminal type disinherited by her father.
Here and now my task is to make some meaningful purpose with the time I have left. For 6 months out of the year I make and sell yeast breads (mostly pretty healthy whole grain....) and cookies. I volunteer every week visiting patients at our small town hospital.......under the aegis of the chaplain and social workers.
I'm an "Ally" with the United Way, Bridging Forward ministry........I'm currently associated with a lady recovered from meth addiction, paroled from prison, diabetic and urgently striving to save her leg from amputation and who's also tasked with caring for her 15 month old granddaughter.......while the child's mother is serving a one year sentence in state prison. I'm also in the Master Gardener, state university extension program.......which is basically my primary source of regular social contacts......except for hospital patients and the other members of my church.

This may be as good as it gets for me.
I still feel regret for the no-career thing every day.
I still feel regret for the years my marginally functional family fumbled its way along and for my effed up childhood, every day.
But here and now I'm 71 years old and this is probably as good as it gets.

There's also the after-life journey but that's a whole different conversation.
And THAT should be pretty interesting.......
You are doing incredibly well actually. I am in awe. I think your life is very meaningful and you have helped a lot of people.
 
I liked staying home until my kids were in school. Then I went to college and graduate school. I worked in my career for 4 years and then obtained a second master’s degree and then worked full time until I retired. During that time I also obtained a PhD.

In the 12 years of retirement I have worked part time for all but 3 of them. I really enjoyed teaching at the University part time after retirement hence my username. I’m now doing part time consulting in my field. I have basically done my life in stages.
 
The years (six) I spent with my son, taking part time jobs in Manhattan (my mother or sister would watch my boy) before we moved to New Hampshire were the best years of my life; in fact my son's childhood were the best years of my life, period. As for housework, and shopping, husband always pulled his weight. He used to laugh at how hard I would clean if we were having guests, and he said we should invite people over more often. When son was about eight, I worked; then we opened our store together, husband kept his day job & I usually ran the shop. My son would pitch in once a week and help with cleaning the store. He was old enough to be 'latchkey kid' by then.

Closest I ever came to heaven. In fact, if my dad hadn't died when son a baby, I would definitely say I was in heaven. All love, and light, and progress as our own family. I'm so grateful for those years.
 
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The years (six) I spent with my son, taking part time jobs in Manhattan (my mother or sister would watch my boy) before we moved to New Hampshire were the best years of my life; in fact my son's childhood were the best years of my life, period. As for housework, and shopping, husband always pulled his weight. He used to laugh at how hard I would clean if we were having guests, and he said we should invite people over more often. When son was about eight, I worked; then we opened our store together, husband kept his day job & I usually ran the shop. My son would pitch in once a week and help with cleaning the store. He was old enough to be 'latchkey kid' by then.

Closest I ever came to heaven. In fact, if my dad hadn't died when son a baby, I would definitely say I was in heaven. All love, and light, and progress as our own family. I'm so grateful for those years.
It's lovely to read this. I think for me too, it was the most contented time in my life when my children were small.
 
My first wife tricked me. We agreed that when both kids went to school full time she would get a job. When it came time, she said she didn't want to because she liked staying home. Beginning of the end. :(
 

I love being a housewife, always did​


I can no longer read the posts, but I CAN still type a bit

My lady was a stay at home Mom
Full time job?
More like 24/7

I pitched in once....when she was sick

But just that one time

I was never so happy to go back to what I thought was work

(sorry for any typos....I really can't see to type either)
 
I love my 'housewife'!
I always have...we married in November of 1970!

We have raised three great kids who now all have families of their own....and one of those grandkids have blessed us with a great-grandchild. Life is good...
 
I didn't marry until 29 & hubby was in his late 30's & our family didn't start until several years later. I had a lot of time invested in a job I really enjoyed & worked hard to get where I was & I also stayed there for financial & retirement reasons. Hubby always did his fair share with the house/kid work during that time. One or both of us was able to take time off from work if there was a daytime school activity, so we didn't miss too much. I ended up with a weekend/evenings/holidays off schedule when I went back from maternity leave so I was home when it was needed.

He retired way before me & became the "house-husband" & school-dad for a few years until he found another job & went back to work for a while. After I retired, I stayed at home & took care of things like he did. He finally "retired" from the other job & now we are just taking care of each other.
 
I had mentioned somewhere that I never wanted to work. I wanted to be a housewife and mom. However, we never had enough money for me to stay at home. Also I had a couple of miscarriages. The number of idiot bosses I had to put up with (although I had a few very nice ones) caused me so much stress. I thank God that I retired and I pray to God that I will never have to work again.
 


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